Learning the workflow of the organisation …..

Michael Brozio is an Insight Analyst in the Insight, Strategy and Innovation team. In his blog, he describes his first month working for NHSBT.

My first month has been extremely engaging. I began learning the workflow of the organisation from day one. The importance that the communications directive played in both retaining and recruiting new donors soon became apparent. The creative prowess required to target adequate and specific types of potential donors was also demonstrated through the rich catalogue of previous campaigns, including the Internal Missing Types and Represent at the MOBOs.

Since day one, my technological literacy and logic was tested as I was thrust onto some technical SQL training which was essential for my role. Building complex SQL queries which allowed my department to call up data which could be enriched with insight was crucial. Fluency in understanding the SQL language was indispensable, as the database backend would (for now) only be accessible using such methods.

Beside technical training, I have also met with heads of several departments who gave me a thorough overview of their roles as well as their departments. I soon learnt of the substantial levels of inter-connectivity between the departments within the directive. This was mostly widely showcased with the marketing and research, which went hand in hand, each ensuring it was on the right path to achieve its required goals.

In the second week at my role, the Tooting agile office received a much welcomed PC systems upgrade. Now able to operate in the latest Windows 10 environment with the latest 2016 Office suite of tools vastly improved my ability to work at my best. This was largely due to my previous experience of working with these versions of the Office suite, with no need for learning or taking time to adopt.

My first full team meeting at the West End Donor Centre was interesting and eye-opening. I appreciated the time given to different topics and the forward planning nature.

I instantly noticed that all feedback was welcomed and expanded on with ideas from everyone having a say. As improving our inner team working capabilities was one of the ongoing tasks, new forms of engagement was put in practice the following week. This showcased the flexibility and willingness of everyone within the department to progress further and find a solution which would work for each person.

Another theme I quickly learnt from our first team meeting was the great eagerness on skill sharing. I was encouraged to develop a Brandwatch dashboards tutorial which could be useful team-wide, as I carried experience of using such systems. The focus on self-development was very encouraging and personally important to me. Providing opportunities for continued development and education was extremely important for me, as it was a great motivator to showcase my best.

Nearing the end of my first month I began working on a donor centre profile which would give a detailed overview of all new donors which registered in 2017. This gave me an opportunity to not only put my newly acquired technical skills to use but also deliver some insight delivery. I quickly adopted the required document format, layout and data presentation recommendations. My biggest takeaway from delivering the profile was certainly learning the best and fastest ways of acquiring the data as well as discovery the flexibility at which I could interpolate various database values and categories. This allowed me to deliver some insight and recommendations on improving the recruitment at that specific centre going forward.

Overall, my first month had been full of dynamic learning and meeting of various internal stakeholders. I have learnt an incredible amount about NHSBT’s activities, the important role that communications play on the safe availability of blood stocks and transplants, as well as the incredible cross departmental collaboration.

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